DB-013 Biyomon—An evolution-primed Rookie with serious hate.
What’s good about it: The amazing ability to toolbox a Champion for direct, immediate evolution from the deck, which ignores DP since it’s outside the evolution phase. That ridiculous triple hate of with a high 200 base power for it (this is good even for many Champions with x3 VS). +30 P is always welcome on a Rookie, especially in Wind. If you don’t manage to be R and Wind for the Support, you still get a serviceable draw 2.
What’s bad about it: Incredibly weak attacks otherwise. You need a serious back-up plan for this Digimon, if it gets stuck out there and left hanging with all those low-Power attacks and the extremely vulnerable HP. You will have to actually validate the Champion, which is locked to Wind Rookies. The x3 VS is only useful if you can actually hit with it without dying at Rookie level. You have to skip using an Evolution card that turn, which can stop you from getting pretty powerful bonuses.
Tips: There are really not a lot of downsides to this card other than the loss of tempo. The Support isn’t just good for saving DP and toolboxing, it can also set an opponent up for failure if they think they’re going to KO a Rookie but nope, actually you pulled out a Champion (especially if it has a new attack ability that predicts what they planned for!). Make sure you aren’t playing this when you could just evolve normally to a good option in hand. Alternatively, the effect is also sort-of like “Super Tag” in that you’ll get to keep DP, so you can Rack-Up, skip evolving, use this as support to set up your Champion (be sure to know what attack you want to use during the Strategy Phase) and then you’ll be set DP-wise for Ultimate. is really good x3 VS, especially if you manage to mix her into a deck with something like Sabirdramon. That unlocks the ability to abuse the x3 VS on a much larger scale, or even make a skeleton for a “Mastemon” deck.
What’s good about it: “M” is for “Miracle” and “Multi-use”—you can play this as a normal support to get a phoenix effect, which doesn’t let the opponent have a KO. But you can also choose to “Turbo”, which means play this Any Phase with a couple of modifications: you don’t delete it and it counts as 1 KO as normal. You get to pick based on the situation whether it’s better to give up your support for the turn or not, depending on how far ahead the opponent is in KOs, so this is never dead in hand just like other Aces.
What’s bad about it: If 1000 HP would’ve saved you a KO, [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/004-Gold-Mushroom.png” name=”Gold Mushroom”] is arguably better (an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure). On that note, [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/071-Mystic-Seal.png” name=”Mystic Seal”] is better if you would use Ruby for its Support-speed effect in most situations, since by virtue of not dying, Seal still allows you to attack (plus void something). Not every Ace gets deleted, so good luck finding an abusable combo for this.
Tips: Here’s the thing, you’re supposed to use the Turbo version. It doesn’t delete itself (since no KO reduction happens), can be played any time so you’re not giving up support, and has a secret hidden inside it—counting as up-to 1 KO means using this out of nowhere with Level M gives you an unvoidable way to keep it fielded, while still counting as -1 KO! Gold Mushroom, Mystic Seal, and the like aren’t borderline-unvoidable. The only way to void this card when Turbo is [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/014-ClownTrick.png” name=”Clown Trick”] and that’s likely to just give you the card right back again, so you can still use it later; plus it’s a pretty rare situation to see. If you know they have Clown Trick, try baiting them to waste that void before they know what Ace you’re using. Since you’re not giving up that support, you can still play something devastating and offensive for battle, or just grab some delicious utility from [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/197-Training-Manual.png” name=”Training Manual”], especially if it fuels an Any Phase saturated deck. This is also a really weird and situational counter to [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/012-Soulmon.png” name=”Soulmon”], since your opponent is only likely to use it when you’d be KOd and you can throw this in during the first step of the Battle Phase to ensure no response play from the opponent—again, it counts as -1 KO in that situation too. Don’t forget revived Digimon never count as more than 1 KO for any reason, so this permanently sets your Level M to 1 KO.
Any situation where KOs are worth more than 1, the Turbo version of Miracle Ruby is amazing. Weirdly, you can use the Turbo version very well even with the same Soulmon; since you can’t guarantee Grudge is going to work or even be your best response that turn, a Turbo Miracle Ruby will act just like the regular Support version and give up 0 KOs due to its evo-box! With a little recycle…well you know. If you use the fact that you will appear to be cornered on the turn you Turbo this card, the opponent will select a strategy accordingly, play a support accordingly, and then be completely surprised during the first step of the Battle Phase. Because of this, Miracle Ruby is paradoxically better with decks that have some way to threaten the opponent’s attacks, such as “Counter” or “to Zero”, since they still have to account for your will to live (they don’t know you’re fine dying). In any case, that most likely means they have to support in order to get the last bit necessary to KO you, without knowing what lurks in your hand. This effectively also makes Miracle Ruby a void card, since opponents will want to play power gain to get a KO, only for you to utterly negate that no matter how much they gained. Someone using Crash or [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/191-Chainsaw.png” name=”Chainsaw”] for such a situation has doomed themselves.
But then it keeps going…if you’re not playing a deck with extreme abuse of Any Phase, large amounts of draw, or some way to get to Level M quickly, you still have the option to play this for any of your typical actives (assuming you still have a reason to put it in your deck). It’ll be deleted and therefore won’t be abusable. It won’t be nigh-unvoidable. It won’t be unilaterally better than Gold Mushroom or Mystic Seal (or any other similar), but you will still have a Digimon, it will have a good enough amount of HP to survive, and that will give you time to find some other strategy. Interestingly, it’s a weird counter for the devastating [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/067-ShiningMane.png” name=”Shining Mane”] where any other card that gives +1000 HP can’t be, since you won’t meet the conditions for its halving. Shining Mane often causes you to seize defeat from the clutches of victory.
Ruby is definitely a card that assumes you’ll be on your back-foot at some point during the game. Weirdly, I’ve witnessed a lot of contradictory things while playing this game. Those two Aces I keep bringing up? They’re common to use at the wrong time, especially Gold Mushroom since it gives more HP than people typically use before they evolve again. They don’t signal to the player when the best moment to use them is. They’re actually too good sometimes. If you’re too flexible, you don’t have a map for when to play the card. If you can’t play Miracle Ruby until you would almost certainly be KO’d, then you can pretend to be a cornered rat and force the opponent to act accordingly, as above. Ruby tends to stay in the hand for far longer, scale to the skill level of any opponent, and vastly change the little subgame of attack selection during the strategy phase. You can even commit to the revival despite not being obvious that you’ll be KO’d, by playing it earlier in the turn and forcing the opponent to try and wiggle around it—it’s a signal that you’re going to use Crash or some other reckless play and they’re likely to waste their energy trying to stop it. Since you can just recycle it back, the Ruby isn’t even wasted. Regardless of which version you use, it’s not as simple as “X card is better”.
Why does this whole article seem like a back-footed defense of a back-foot defense card? Because both reveal new hidden truths. The Miracle is Ruby lets you evolve, or stay at your max evolution. I hope this COTD does similar.
Meatvolution—A silly name but a serious healing card that recovers HP when evolving.
What’s good about it: There’s nothing more to say than free meat! HP +400 (nearly unvoidable) outside of the Support Phase is pretty ridiculous, and like most utility-evolutions, Meatvolution sets your new Digimon up for success early. In this case, you get to use that shiny new Digimon for a much longer time before being forced to evolve again. It’s more powerful than Recovery Disk, which is often played in HP Recovery decks. You also get a cost reduction of -10 DP which is nice.
What’s bad about it: As typical with utility evolutions, you’ll have to evolve from DP and have your evolution taken care of independently of the card. This is just a bonus you get for doing things the old-fashioned way. It also still costs you a card from hand (and all your DP) so watch your card advantage. If you don’t actually need the extra 400 HP, this card can be a misplay or dead in hand. If you’re planning to evolve before the 400 HP is used up, you’ve essentially wasted everything.
Tips: Make sure whatever you’re going to with this card can use the 400 extra HP. It’s especially good when you can search Meatvolution card situationally from your deck. Almost always, [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/164-Level-Crush.png” name=”Level Crush”] will provide you with far more HP; so always ask yourself if you are heavily gunning for an HP-based strategy or just want to shore up some weaknesses in your existing Digimon. Overall, it’s not a bad pick once you have your DP/evolution squared away. In fact, this is one of the best cards for a Crash deck! DP -10 is the sweet spot for those since they often run many low-cost Level C, then try to get as much HP as possible before the inevitable crash. “But what if I have too much overkill” —You, probably. You might have overkill or just a ton of crash regardless, but that’s actually a good thing. In Game Theory terms, Crash is your “big gun” and the threat of it being used has to be taken just as seriously as it being used. Try looking up “Brinksmanship” to see how to level up your play in these situations. Let’s say for now that a gun is always in use, even when it is not being fired.
Reppamon—A Champion with heavy emphasis on support.
What’s good about it: The evo-box damaging ability is always welcome, as -100 HP to the opponent could result in a pre-Batttle Phase KO. You can choose to pay the Support cost or not, which makes this at the very least not bad to top-deck. Reducing the opponent’s Power to zero, especially while you get to attack, is incredibly powerful and usually better than a “Counter” if implemented correctly. The “Trash 2” Cross-ability can be used to much effectiveness when paired with other Trash abilities, making your fast -based deck capable of reducing the max number of KOs necessary to win in short order. Its evo-box branches 3 different types.
What’s bad about it: Its overall body is incredibly weak. You will be needing that evo-box bonus damage to deliver anything remotely resembling a KO, especially un-boosted. The +20P is a bit coarse in a type that tries to evolve as fast as possible. Lack of native 1st Attack on a weak body means it has trouble getting the final blow. Support is type-locked and attack-locked, on top of requiring a loss of card advantage (remember, you already -1 when you support with it).
Tips: If you plan to use the support often, try using -locked effects that swap your with Power (e.g. “Love Crest), or use Digimon with higher Triangles, or Triangle-abilities (e.g. “Kiwimon”) for maximum effectiveness. If you want to go for a trash-based strategy in Wind, make sure you protect its Cross and keep its HP up heavily with cards like “Large Disk”. Always set up the ability to evolve it to Level U ahead of time so you don’t get stuck on Reppamon and eat a KO.
Okay, I admit, almost none of you actually asked this question to yourselves. Maybe a few who played the game Digimon Battles was based on: Digimon World: Digital Card Battles for Playstation. In that game, all the Mega Digimon were Level U (Ultimate). It may have even shocked some of you to see Digimon like HerculeseKabuterimon, Phoenixmon, and Wargreymon labeled as “U”! Why might that be?
It’s all about balance: try playing this game with a 30 card deck instead, 4 copies of any card (not the 4, 3, 2, 1 cascading limits I put on them) and then try running 4 levels of cards in the deck. It’s madness! You won’t have nearly enough room in a deck to make any of this consistent. But at the time, the Mega-level Digimon were the star of the show and not including them would’ve seemed out of touch with the intellectual property. So they were downgraded a level, but most of them kept insane power in some way or another (usually with added cost). Full Article
Sniper Disk—Evolution that lets you “snipe” cards right out of the opponent’s deck.
What’s good about it: You get to see your opponent’s entire deck and every card that remains. This can target an Ace! It can also target Firewalls. You can hit an opponent’s Partner or Level Us to stop their plans early. If you hate being “sacked” by lucky late game draws, this fixes that problem immediately. Opponent can’t simply mulligan-spam into their best cards. You still get +20DP (up to +40P) as long as don’t mind much weaker sniping.
What’s bad about it: You have to actually evolve by DP. Gaining the extra DP bonus means you’re not using this card to stay ahead, you’re using it for damage control. Opponents can actively/passively resist this card with simple Recycle abilities, many of which are abundant and incidental. Significantly less effective later in the game and/or after Partner/Ace/Firewall cards have been played. Need to have a legitimate evolution strategy independent of this card—it’s not [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/165-Digivice.png” name=”Digivice”] after all.
Tips: This one speaks for itself. Make sure you have a good evolution structure to your deck independently of Sniper Disk. The 40 DP is probably enough to always evolve (similar to Digivice), so you may be tempted to only use Sniper Disk. The problem is you will fall into a trap—Digivice lets you ignore DP, for use with the next evolution, DP-cost cards, and is effectively infinite DP. Sniper Disk would only work without additional racking when you’re willing to get a much weaker effect and/or willing to lose all your DP cards. One remedy for this problem is to use Super Tag first to protect your DP, then Sniper Disk to full effect. Always try to memorize the remaining cards in your opponent’s deck (you only get one shot). Snipe cards as mentioned above, which are Aces/Firewalls/Partners and other cards that may be problematic for you to deal with, or give the opponent fast or immediate upcoming advantage, especially if they do something reckless like spam mulligans. Try to use Evolution searchers to get this card when you need it, before all the good stuff gets played.
A quick aside coming off the heels of today’s COTD: Death Evolution. It’s listed as a firewall. Firewall cards are Options that usually Void in some way. Cherrymon’s Mist was the original firewall and has been erratad as such. The card is so staple that every deck needed 3 copies to compete. Stuff like this can’t be nerfed or removed or it would negatively affect the health of the game, but we also don’t like the idea of hard staples being the first cards you put into a new deck. Maybe if this were a pool of cards instead…
Thus the Firewall keyword was born. It’s similar to how Ace cards work: You can have 3 of any firewalls in your deck, period. Essentially what this means is you can still run 3 Cherrymon’s Mist, but then you might miss out on other effects like the aforementioned Death Evolution. You could run 1 Mist and 2 Death Evolution. Or mix and match between the 3 new firewalls in Data Breakers and the original Mist in Base Release. Each one might fundamentally void effects, but all are pretty powerful (almost Ace-worthy, almost).
It will definitely be a priority for us to make more Firewall-keyworded cards, so that players have plenty of strategy, can express themselves through their cards, and you know…don’t show up to a cocktail party in the same dress!
Death Evolution—A new firewall and stops Evolutions in their tracks, and maybe an Option.
What’s good about it: It has a very rare ability: the power to be played during the Evolution Phase and void an Evolve card. On top of that, it can also stop an Option card later in the Support Phase, if you choose. If your opponent has no way to play around it, this can be a hard one-two combo that floors them.
What’s bad about it: Overall, it’s less powerful than other firewalls such as “Cherrymon’s Mist”, and isn’t for every deck. You have to make the decision to Support with it during the Evolution Phase, which can give your opponent enough information to play around it. Since it can only void Options, this gives it a more limited scope and the opponent might have wanted to support with a Digimon (or not at all) anyway.
Tips: Those precious 3 Firewall slots have to be thought through carefully. What can you really use? What synergizes? What can you re-use? While it technically can be played around, let’s not underestimate the power to buy a turn by stopping an Ace from even being played. Also, if you have no Evolutions to void, you can always play this in the Support Phase regularly, which gives you flexibility. If you reveal to void an evolve, then discard it on purpose, there are ways you can re-use it later via recycle or similar.
Like any new thing, DATA cards are likely to be confusing at first. The new black border is unfamiliar, and their “timing” text just says “DATA” followed by effects from all kinds of different phases. What’s this all about? Let’s start with their possibilities: Full Article
What’s good about it: [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/044-Megalogrowlmon.png” name=”Megalogrowlmon”] provides via evo-bonus a huge recycle on par with [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/182-Vending-Machine.png” name=”Vending Machine”]. It has a very easy DNA, since half the requirements just have to be and Level U. The HP on this incarnation of terror is huge for its type. “Attach D”, while not incredibly ridiculous by itself compared to other Cross-abilities, is monumentally horrifying when paired with the passive “Attachment Slots +2” and “Unaffected by Shatter”, since this means you can set up 3 (non-Ace, non-Firewall) attachments from your deck in a row, with no ability to be stopped, all of which can form a complex combo. Megidramon can also change its type every turn to make best use of all the type-requiring attachment cards and evade “x3 VS” abilities the opponent may have. The cherry on top is how it slowly corrupts the opponent’s deck into oblivion over time.
What’s bad about it: Try actually setting up those 3 attachments with only its attack. I dare you. Any opponent with an ounce of fore-thought will see right through it and plan around it, possibly going for a one-hit KO with their Ace. Megidramon also has a more “balanced” spread of attack Power for its huge DP cost, so it doesn’t really stand out anywhere, including . This is a nearly pure-setup Mega and should be supported as such. Corrupting 1 every turn is very slow if you’re not also supporting with similar abilities. Changing your type away from Dragon usually makes you more vulnerable to “x3 VS” in general (opponents can play Digimon on their turn, you know) and turns off a lot of the best Dragon supports. In addition, an opponent with the rare Counter- (or “to-Zero”) is going to see your setup coming a mile away and make you eat dirt.
Tips: While it’s usually not advisable to build your supports/options around your Mega, Megidramon makes it necessary to at least coincidentally support it. Without backup, it’s just a whole lot of effort for very little payoff. If you can keep its health up, anticipate anti-Cross plays, outfox [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/074-Vademon.png” name=”Vademon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/036-LovePatch.png” name=”Love Patch”] and [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/010-Ghostmon.png” name=”Ghostmon”] plays (you do have extra slots lying around for them to use), and keep your opponent dealing with this five-alarm-fire of a Digimon, it’s incredibly rewarding. Make sure that the support for it in your deck works just as well for your Level C and Us, unless you have a dedicated speed-evolve strategy like [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/163-Hyper-Digivolve.png” name=”Hyper Digivolve”]. See also Incubator COTD for more attach combos!
Digimon Battles (DMB) set Data Breakers brings with it a new category of Digimon—Ruler. Much like Jungle () or Nightmare (), it obeys the rules of evolution. However, there are many rules it does not obey and -Digimon have a lot of special features you should know about, as well as design philosophies that you will notice as trends among their cards. Let’s get started with a list of what they can and can’t do: Full Article
Incubator—An Evolution that attaches a card from your deck while evolving.
What’s good about it: Incubator lets you set up your newly-evolved Digimon for a much more fruitful lifespan right out of the box. It replaces itself after you use it, with the handy draw 1. Since you’re evolving by DP to use the effect, it also stacks with the effect of Super Tag. This is easily one of the best toolbox cards in the game due Evolutions being nearly unvoidable, and this ignores types. Extremely powerful combos that would normally be forbidden are allowed due to ignoring type, and it’s incredibly consistent since the attach comes from the deck. Unlike most Evolutions, you can use this with Level M and pair it up with a combo attach. If you have any attachments, including if the opponent does, you can trash them for help evolving.
What’s bad about it: Can’t attach Aces. Can’t ignore non-type requirements such as level. This card is an Evolution that gives you no discounts unless you or the opponent already has an attachment. Useless with [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/066-PurityMask.png” name=”Purity Mask”] or cards like it. You can’t use it on any Digimon that is not actually evolving right then, including abnormals. You won’t get the flash effect when attaching; the one you’d get if you support with the card to attach.
Tips: Be sure to take advantage of its opponent attachment killing, or use with negative attachments like [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/067-DarkEvolve.png” name=”Dark Evolve”] or Purity Mask. Pair this with the Mastery [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/004-ToyChest.png” name=”Toy Chest”] for maximum use of its limits and DP cost reduction. Using several different attachments can really help Incubator shine—any of the Crests and [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/064-Stardom.png” name=”Stardom”] are a good starting point. [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/099-SuperTag.png” name=”Super Tag”] with this lets you keep your DP with the attach. Remember, look for the words “Attach to…” for cards that don’t have a type. Not just anything can be attached, you know! [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/05-Moxie.png” name=”Moxie”] and [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/022-Love-Crest.png” name=”Love Crest”] pairs incredibly well due to the odd wording: “after playing a Future, attach…” which is before you actually evolve—therefore these cards will activate an evo-bonus which may assist with evolution (or double your evo-bonuses). With any “Slots +1″ effect, Incubator sets up attach combos very quickly that are normally impossible, especially if they require different types.
An example is [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/023-Gorgon.png” name=”Gorgon”] + [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/040-Flarelizamon.png” name=”Flarelizamon”] to get Cross +100, Circle Grudge, and 1st Attack which can allow you to have an incredibly powerful Grudge that gets both effects (due to you attacking first with double power, plus getting hit after and KO’d for huge revival). Another is using Incubator to attach [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/000-Clearagumon.png” name=”Clearagumon”], then Support to attach [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/068-MagicWord.png” name=”Magic Word”]. With this combo, every time both attacks are different, void opponent’s Digimon support, then Static 3. Going even further, combine Slots +1 with evo-bonuses that attach like [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/037-Orochimon.png” name=”Orochimon”] and [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/008-Chaosdukemon.png” name=”Chaosdukemon”] for instant-combos! A Level M combo that’s fairly solid is [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/096-Jijimon.png” name=”Jijimon”] + [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/017-Purity-Crest.png” name=”Purity Crest”]. When you don’t mulligan, you draw 2 (with no max hand size, and you may have already drawn 2 due to Prep Phase).
In preparation for set “Data Breakers” which is coming very soon, we have gone over the base set and first expansion yet again. Several cards had their evolution boxes expanded (in preparation), patter streamlined, effects rebalanced, bodies changed, and so much more. Don’t get too excited, it’s mostly just typo fixing and patter updates. For example, any Set EX cards had their “Look at the top X of own deck and put them on the top or bottom in any order” condensed into “Recode X’. Recode is a new keyword for the Data Breakers set, which does as advertised just there. If you need a list to figure out what needs updated in your deck, check the full errata list below:
Gold Treasure—An Option that helps get almost any Digimon in own deck.
What’s good about it: Gold Treasure can fetch you a Digimon for evolution; DNA materials; or you can be cheeky and use it to toolbox supports. The card you search just needs to be related to your active somehow, in the evolution “network”. For example: the same-type. A Digimon with your active’s name in its evo-box is also in-network.
What’s bad about it: This card is a utility card—it helps you for the next turn, not this one. It’s not completely unrestricted like [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/041-Mastertyrannomon.png” name=”Mastertyrannomon”] special evo-box bonus.
Tips: Gold Treasure can let you run a wider variety of Champions and Ultimates in your deck and toolbox them for support and evolution box effects. That’s especially useful for Nature type, since they have very powerful Digimon supports that are situational; so you can just pick whatever is right for the situation. It’s also really helpful for setting up DNA evolution for Ultimates and Megas. For most decks, this might as well say “Take 1 Digimon in own deck”, since the conditions only fail to cover abusable cases. This card has nearly endless use-cases for making combos. One especially useful way to shore up its slow speed weakness is to take a Digimon with an “Any Phase” speed, such as Redotamamon.
